What is Bitcoin? Who is the Creator of Bitcoin? History of Bitcoin?

What is Bitcoin? - Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital currency, which is used and distributed electronically. Bitcoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer network. There is no one institution or person who controls it. Bitcoin cannot be printed and the number is very limited, only 21 million Bitcoin can be made.

Who is the Creator of Bitcoin?

Bitcoin was first introduced as open-source software by anonymous programmers, or a group of programmers, by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. There were many rumors about the original identity of the BTC creator, but all the people mentioned in the rumor were openly has denied being Nakamoto.

Nakamoto himself claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan. However, because English is perfect and the software is not labeled in Japanese, there is reasonable doubt about this. Around mid-2010, Nakamoto moved to other things, leaving Bitcoin in the hands of several prominent members of the BTC community. Satoshi also called Gavin Andresen the main developer.

It is estimated that Nakamoto has around one million Bitcoin, which amounts to around $ 3.6 billion in September 2017.

Who controls Bitcoin?

According to Gavin Andresen, the first thing he focused on after Nakamoto moved out of the project was further decentralization. Andersen wants Bitcoin to continue its existence independently, even if he will be 'hit by a bus'.

For many people, the main advantage of Bitcoin is its freedom from world governments, banks and companies. No authority can interfere with BTC transactions, charge transaction fees or take people's money. What's more, the Bitcoin movement is very transparent - every transaction is stored in a distributed public ledger called the Blockchain.

Basically, while Bitcoin isn't controlled as a network, Bitcoin gives its users total control over their finances.

How does Bitcoin work?

A user only sees the amount of Bitcoin in his wallet and the results of the transaction.

Behind the scenes, the Bitcoin network shares a public ledger called the "block chain". This ledger contains every transaction that has been processed. Digital transaction records are combined into "blocks".

If someone tries to change only one letter or number in a transaction block, it will also affect all the following blocks. Because it becomes a public ledger, fraudulent errors or attempts can be easily seen and corrected by anyone.

Wallet users can verify the validity of each transaction. The authenticity of each transaction is protected by a digital signature that matches the shipping address.

Due to the verification process and depending on the trading platform, it may take several minutes to complete the BTC transaction. The Bitcoin protocol is designed so that each block takes about 10 minutes to mine.

Characteristics of Bitcoin

Decentralized

One of Satoshi Nakamoto's main goals when creating Bitcoin is network independence from the competent authorities. This is designed so that every person, business, and every machine involved in mining and verifying transactions becomes part of a wide network. What's more, even if some part of the network goes down, money will continue to move.

Anonymous

These days banks know almost everything about their clients: credit history, address, telephone number, shopping habits, and so on. Everything is very different from Bitcoin, because the wallet does not have to be associated with personal identification information. And while some people just don't want their finances to be regulated and tracked by any authority, others might argue that drug trafficking, terrorism and other illegal and dangerous activities will develop in this relative anonymity.

Transparent

Bitcoin anonymity is only relative, because every single BTC transaction that has ever occurred is stored on the Blockchain. In theory, if your wallet address is used publicly, anyone can find out how much money is in it by carefully studying the blockchain ledger. However, tracking certain Bitcoin addresses to someone is still almost impossible.

Those who want to remain anonymous with their transactions can take action to remain under the radar. There are several types of wallets that prioritize haziness and security, but the simplest step is to use multiple addresses and not transfer large amounts of money to a single wallet.

Hurry up

The Bitcoin network processes payments almost instantly, usually requiring only a few minutes for someone in other parts of the world to receive money, while a normal bank transfer can take several days.

Can not be denied

After you send Bitcoin to someone, there is no way to get it back, unless the recipient wants to send it back to you. This ensures receipt of payments, which means that anyone who trades with you cannot cheat you by claiming that they never get money.

What can I buy with Bitcoin?

Back in 2009, when Bitcoin was first introduced, it was not very clear how and where you could spend it. Now, you can buy almost everything. For example, giant companies like Microsoft and Dell receive payments in BTC for their various products and digital content. You can fly with airlines like AirBaltic and Air Lithuania, buy theater tickets through UK Theater Direct Tickets, get a few bottles of Honest Brew craft beer, and so on.

Other options include paying hotels and buying property, taking bills at various bars and restaurants, joining dating sites, buying gift cards, placing bets in online casinos and donating for good purposes. There are also a variety of diverse online markets, trading everything from illegal ingredients to high-end luxury goods.

Bitcoin is a relatively new and quite complex form of payment, so it is only natural that spending options are still limited, but every day more businesses - from small local coffee shops to industrial giants - receive payments in BTC.

In addition, because the exchange rate continues to fluctuate, Bitcoin is a major opportunity for investment. Even though it is still an unstable currency and to some extent not recognized, the currency has become seven times more valuable over the past year, almost reaching a level of $ 5,000 for one BTC.

How do I get Bitcoin?

The simplest way to get Bitcoin is to buy it. Bitcoin is available from various exchanges, but you can also buy it directly from other people through the market. They can be paid in cash, transfer credit and debit cards or even with other cryptocurrency. But first, you will need a Bitcoin wallet.

There are various options, but the main ones can be reduced to online wallets and software wallets on your computer's hard drive. There is no truly safe option, because the hard drive can be damaged, while online wallets may be vulnerable to hacker attacks. There are also cellphone wallets, which are greatly simplified because of the huge storage capacity needed to carry the entire Blockchain; special devices called hardware wallets and paper wallets with two QR codes that are not digitally stored anywhere, making them immune to standard cyber attacks and hardware failures.

And, of course, there is mining. Only a few years ago, anyone with a computer that was strong enough to mine Bitcoin, but this is not the case anymore. The increasing popularity of BTC and its exchange rate have caused large companies to enter games that are armed with special mining equipment, hence why the difficulties and energy needed to mine valuable amounts of Bitcoin have skyrocketed. What's more, the amount of Bitcoin that still needs to be mined decreases constantly and drastically.